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Europe/Russia
United Kingdom | Pub chain Greene King agreed to sell its Old Speckled Hen ale brands to Spanish brewer Damm, the owner of Estrella lager. Barcelona-based Damm will buy all the Old Speckled Hen lines, including its non-alcoholic and golden ale versions, and will brew them at its brewery in Bedford.
Europe/Russia
United Kingdom | Three months after BrewDog’s dramatic collapse, founder James Watt announced plans to launch a new beer brand called Second Best. Speaking to the Financial Times on 23 May, he said his new venture will allow former BrewDog Equity Punk investors to claim shares for gratis.
Europe/Russia
United Kingdom | Across the UK, some 320 brewery businesses shut last year, Companies House data show. Yet only 170 opened, resulting in a net loss of 150. The loss has continued this year. As of April, the number of UK beer brewing companies fell to 2320. It peaked at 2594 in 2022.
Europe/Russia
Austria | It must have been on the bucket list of many brewers: visiting six breweries in only three days, on top of journeying along some of the most scenic routes in Austria and Bavaria. Luckily, some 40 UK brewers and their mentors got the chance, courtesy of the Chartered Institute of Brewing and Distilling (CIBD). They made the most of it, familiarising themselves with the breweries’ heritage and their technical installations, while enjoying a diversity of beers and styles.
Europe/Russia
Ireland | Guinness parent Diageo officially opened its new Kildare brewery on 11 May as part of a near EUR 1 billion investment in its Irish operations. Diageo said the new brewery on a greenfield site at Littleconnell, outside Newbridge, represents an investment of almost EUR 300 million (USD 350 million) - 50 percent more than planned when the expansion was first announced in 2022.
Europe/Russia
Austria | Imagine this: “Brau Union’s new Villach City Brewery opened on 6 May right in the heart of downtown and is breathing new life into the region’s brewing culture. After 12 months of construction, up to 7,000 hl of beer will be produced here each year,” media gushed. No mention, though, that the small brewery is replacing a 320,000 hl brewery on the same site, which Heineken’s Austrian subsidiary Brau Union had shuttered in 2024.
Europe/Russia
Ukraine | Andriy Sadovyi, mayor of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, told media on 5 May that his day did not begin not with coffee, but with the opening of a new canning line at Carlsberg’s brewery. He mentioned the figure of UAH 610 million (EUR 12 million), which he said is a significant contribution to the development of Lviv’s economy.
Europe/Russia
Germany | The allocation of beer tents at the Munich Oktoberfest is now a matter for the courts. The Munich Administrative Court has confirmed an urgent motion filed by restaurateur Alexander Egger on 12 May. He is challenging the rejection by the city council of his application for the “Schützenlisl” tent at the Old Wiesn, an Oktoberfest spin-off. His motion also calls the entire tent allocation process into question, which, if successful, could derail preparations for this year’s Octoberfest (19 September – 4 October).
Europe/Russia
Germany | The Haus Cramer Group, owner of Warsteiner brewery, is responding to the crisis in the German beer market by significantly trimming back its brewing capacity, media reported on 7 May. As part of the plan, the Herford brewery will close in August, while the group is seeking a buyer for its brewery in Paderborn.
Europe/Russia
United Kingdom | Approximately two British pubs closed per day in the first quarter of 2026, according to figures by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), released on 5 May. A total of 161 pubs shuttered across England, Scotland and Wales, equating to the loss of around 2,400 jobs. The demise of BrewDog would have added 38 bars alone.
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BRAUWELT on tour
Most Read
BRAUWELT on tour
